A weekly current affairs programme presented by Ross Stevens.
“It’s opponents have been called a conspiracy of safety Nazis, all shouting ‘sieg health’. On the other side, King James, in 1604 called it ‘a custom loath to the eye, hateful to the nose, and harmful to the brain’. Smoking. Tonight in a live discussion, we’re asking ‘will she or won’t she’ or ‘should she or shouldn’t she’ ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship. And after the Games, New Zealand sports people cast envious eyes towards Australia.”
“With the euphoria of the Auckland Commonwealth Games behind us, post mortems are now underway, in pubs, the Games headquarters, and perhaps most importantly, in the sports clubs. New Zealand bagged a record catch of medals, including 17 golds, reason enough you might think for joy to be unconfined. However, at least one Games team’s coach is calling it a day. Now the heat’s off, citing as a reason a lack of affective backing for his sport. Swim coach Hilton Brown says coaching in New Zealand is hard work for little reward. Little wonder then that envious eyes are being cast towards Australia, where an Institute of Sport has been pouring millions into coaching and supporting individual athletes over the past nine years. The huge financial investment in sport across the Tasman paid big dividends at the Auckland Games. The Australians topped the medal table, ahead of Canada and England. Bob Harley and Phil Wallington have asked sports people and coaches in Australia and New Zealand ‘how much gold can be bought for $27 million a year?’
‘A Sporting Chance’.
Interviewees: Kerry Saxby, 10K walk gold medallist; Lisa-Marie Viziniari, discus gold medallist; Bill Sweetenham, swimming coach A.I.S.; Paul Kingsman, swimmer; Hilton Brown, NZ swimming coach; Perry Crosswhite, Acting Director A.I.S.; Kerry Rodger; Brett Dutton, cyclist; Don Talbot, Aust. swim team coach; John Davies, NZ athletics coach; Laurie Lawrence, swimming coach; Anthony Mosse.
“The Minister of Health has put it this way: smoking is responsible for the premature deaths of more than four thousand New Zealanders a year. And the range of diseases for which smoking is recognised as the cause has increased in recent years. She’s also said the promotion of a product which kills when used as intended should not be permitted. Accordingly the Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Helen Clark has proposed legislation that will ban tobacco advertising all together and stop the cigarette companies from promoting sports as a back door way of keeping their names in the public eye.”
Ross Stevens holds a discussion in the studio with: Helen Clark, Minister of Health; Michael Thomson, Tobacco Institute; Dr Arthur Chesterfield Evans, Australian non-smokers movement; Andy Haden, NZers Right to Decide.